PRESS DIGEST-Canada-Feb 3

Feb 3 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* The Canadian government plans to start buying land in Detroit for the U.S. portion of a new bridge linking the two countries, a Canadian official said in a report published Sunday, a move that bypasses opponents of the project and comes as the U.S. government hasn't yet allocated money. (http://link.reuters.com/byr56v)

* Producers of a vaccine developed to help thwart a fast-spreading swine virus that recently surfaced in Canada says the new drug is showing promise, reducing hog deaths in several American states. (http://link.reuters.com/dyr56v)

Reports in the business section:

* Canada's largest companies are leaping ahead of their peers in the United States and Britain in adding more women to their boards of directors. Women now account for 20 percent of directors on the boards of 100 of Canada's largest companies, while comparable-sized U.S. companies have 17 percent women and British boards have reached 18 per cent. (http://link.reuters.com/cyr56v)

NATIONAL POST

* The New Democratic Party (NDP) is stepping up its battle against bank machine fees, urging the government to make good on its pledge to do something about the charges that vex some Canadian consumers. (http://link.reuters.com/myr56v)

FINANCIAL POST

* More than 20,000 small business customers of telecommunications giant Bell Canada were the victims of what the company is calling an "illegal hacking" incident that left their user names and passwords publicly exposed on the Internet during the weekend. (http://link.reuters.com/jyr56v)

* Retailers are now gathering customers' location data from the pings and signals smartphones are giving off. And, chances are, if your smartphone hasn't already been tracked by these services, it will be very soon. (http://link.reuters.com/kyr56v) (Compiled by Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bangalore)

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